The present invention relates to providing decorative lighting to vehicle wheels. Specifically, the present invention sets forth a new, useful, and practical application of wheel lighting using rechargeable batteries which are automatically recharged using the vehicles existing power supply, and lights which automatically turn on when the vehicle starts, and off when the vehicle is shut off.
Automobile makers offer, more or less, mass-produced generic vehicles because in this way they are able to make, and sell them cheaper. Of course, everyone is different and wants to be unique, so manufacturers profit off this by offering accessories to customize the vehicles to a particular customers preference. One field of these accessories is lighting, and while it is relatively easy to attach a stationary light to the vehicles stationary battery and body, it is quite difficult to attach lights on the rotating and exposed wheels of the vehicle. While several attempts have been made, they all falter in practicality and consumer desirability.
One such example is the solution provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,979 to Byrd who describes attaching insulated conductive bands to the inside of a wheel and allowing current to flow from the vehicles battery to the bands by contact with electrical brushes. This cumulator is the acting means of electrical motors and works well in that application, but on wheels it falls short for several reasons. Number one is the surface speed contact between the brushes and the bands. In an electrical motor the bands and brushes are placed as close to the centre of the spinning axis as possible to reduce the surface speed, and are also covered to prevent foreign elements from destroying the contacts. Byrd's system has none of these qualities and because the wheels are exposed to constant dirt, high temperatures, and high surface speeds, system failure is certain. Also, the inventor does not take into account the usual need for tire changes and how inconvenient and difficult it becomes with a solid brush holder that must be precisely positioned to operate. There is also the certainty of failure from short circuits caused by water mixed with salts that conduct electricity across the brushes and bands.
Other solutions described by U.S. Pat. No. 6,612,726 to Goodt and U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,839 to Lee describes lights affixed to the body of the vehicle, which shine thru the openings in the rotating wheels. Neither solution is practical, though, as dirt, brake dust, and grime soon covers the lights rendering them unfunctional. Also, because of the proximity to the heat from the brakes that the lights are exposed to, they can actually melt or catch on fire.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,928 to Strepak, U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,431 to Park, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,763 to King all describe another typical solution to the problem in which they convert the rotational energy of the moving vehicle wheel to the electrical energy, which powers the lights by means of a generator. These systems are all bulky and complicated mechanisms, which rely on the motion of the vehicle for light. Since the vehicle stops frequently, and the lights shut off, there is a detrimental effect to the overall desired effect.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,230 to Cummins, U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,144 to DiMaggio, U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,431 to Ellis. Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 6,220,733 to Gordon, U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,243 to Cheung, U.S. Pat. No. 6,742,913 to Deutsch, U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,164 to Chien, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,572,251 to Huang all describes battery powered lighting systems for wheels. A major downfall of these devices is the dying of the batteries, and while it is easy to imagine them with rechargeable batteries, the batteries would still have to be manually replaced. Many also require manual switching “on” of the devices, while others require motion sensors for activation and do not function on a stationary vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,238 to Terada describes a solar cell that is attached to the outside of the wheel to catch sunlight in order to recharge the batteries. Unfortunately, because solar cells produce very little energy unless they have a great surface area, this is impractical. Solar cells only work well when facing the sun or other light source. Being attached to the wheel, they are parallel to the suns rays and ineffective. Solar cells are also quite expensive and fragile which would be of great concern to a consumer considering that they are attached to the wheels, which are made durable because of the harsh conditions that they encounter.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,762 to Kutlucinar sums up all the problems of the battery-operated systems. Most notable is that it describes a kit, which comes with a portable re-charger to recharge one set of batteries while the user uses another set until they are dead. One must assume that the user would have to change the batteries every couple of days. Also, this system only works while the vehicle is in motion.
The present inventor understands that the common consumer desires devices that are automatic. They do not wish to switch on the wheel lights before they travel. They do not wish to switch the lights off at the end of their trips. They do not wish to perform maintenance every couple of days. In regards to a wheel lighting device, they want to get in their car and start the engine and have the lights turn on. They want to shut their cars off and have the lights switch off as well. While, because rechargeable batteries cannot be recharged infinitely, and the present invention relies on rechargeable batteries, it also needs maintenance like other devices, those devices produce a small amount of light on the magnitude of hours before servicing, while the present invention produces a large amount of light on the magnitude of years before servicing.
Another feature of the present invention is its ease of installation and universal application to all existing and future vehicles.